History of Science: Special Topics: Oppenheimer/Manhattan Project

• First Issue of Physics today, Volume 1, Issue 1 May 1948 mentions Oppenheimer. 
• “Oppenheimer’s famous porkpie hat placed jauntily amid cyclotron piping,” as historian of science David Kaiser put it, certainly made an impression in May 1948 when it appeared on the cover of a new magazine called Physics Today. Oppenheimer’s name comes up twice in that issue, the first of many mentions over the next 75 years. According to Barton, Oppenheimer approved of the cover. 
• Although Oppenheimer never authored an article specifically for Physics Today, the magazine reprinted several lectures he gave during the 1950s and 1960s. The other two lectures discussed in great detail the history of electron theory (July 1957) and mesons (November 1966).
• Physics Today dedicated a special issue to Oppenheimer in October 1967, eight months after his death.
• The new film is based on American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the 2005 biography by Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin. Physicist and historian of science John S. Rigden reviewed the book in Physics Today’s November 2005 issue, noting that it “stimulates the mind and stirs the emotions.”

(excerpted from  "Oppenheimer in the PT archives." 21 July 2023 Ryan Dahn and Andrew Grant.)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.6.4.20230721a